Army of One
After the events of the Keep on the Shadowfell, Quinn Coppercrest, the halfling paladin continues her journey to unravel the mysteries behind the attack on her home town. ''Fallcrest, the City of Rivers Sunlight crept in through the heavy-paned windows of the Riverdown Town Inn as Quinn pulled back the sheets from her bed and unrolled the map given to her by the innkeeper the night before. The reflective symbol of a unicorn stamped on the paper meant that the map had been published by House Orien, so she knew that it was reliable. It was barely past dawn, but Quinn was only halfway between Winterhaven and Fallcrest, and there was little time to waste… After joining the All Pro Adventurers and defeating the dark warlock Kalarel, Quinn Coppercrest was ready to resume her search for those responsible for the deaths of her family. The trail had gone cold after the APA defeated Irontooth and his band of kobolds, but Quinn had a hunch that some old family friends in Fallcrest might have a few new leads on whoever Irontooth was working for. When the forest path running alongside the Nentir River came to an end, she could see the water branch off into several smaller streams before cascading over the cliffs—the bustling city of Fallcrest in the distance. After a quick stop at the market district in the Lower Falls, Quinn stowed her newly acquired twin stiletto daggers and Arcane Lock ritual scroll in her bag and set off for the Upper Falls to find her old friends, Cal and Corina Cartwright. Passing through an alley on the way, Quinn was attacked by a gang of teenage humans demanding a “toll” for passing through their “territory.” The thugs were easily scared off, but not before one attempted to steal Quinn’s pocketbook of holding. Just as Quinn started to chase the thief, a Blinding Barrage of throwing knives rained down from the shadowy rooftops, pinning the robber to the ground. A short, hooded man leapt down soon after and collected his blades and Quinn’s pocketbook before letting the teenage thief flee. Quinn quickly readied her short sword and shield for combat with this clearly more adept foe, and the man responded in kind with his knives. Following a brief exchange of steel and wits, the clocktower began to strike 10 o’clock, and the man stepped back to take his leave. Thanking Quinn for the sparring match, the man warned her to stay away from the pickpocket gangs of “River Rats” roaming the streets at night. He tossed back her pocketbook, remarking that she “owed him one” before disappearing into the shadows. Unexpected Visitors Quinn arrived at the Cartwrights’ house shortly after 10 o’clock in the evening. Being researchers at Moonsong University, Cal and Corina had only recently returned home themselves and promptly invited Quinn to join them for dinner. Cal was a historian at the University, and as the three halflings talked, he explained to Quinn that Irontooth was most likely an officer of an organization known as the Iron Circle—a syndicate of brigands whose influence had crept into the Nentir Vale within the past few years. Smaller towns like Winterhaven and Riverdown seemed to be targets of the organization’s activity. And although no attacks had been reported since the recent defeat of Irontooth, there was still a lingering doubt that the threat was truly over. Before the conversation could continue further, there was a knock on the door. A human woman, Captain Tira of the Fallcrest Guard’s Four-Star Division, had come to speak with Cal about a young halfling she had just taken into custody. Tira ushered in the halfling man, explaining that she found him at the University after an alarm spell was triggered. She placed him under arrest for attempting to break in, but he tried to explain that he was merely trying to protect the University from ''others who were planning to break in. The man introduced himself as Demetrius Eryx Swiftwing, and told Tira that the Cartwrights could vouch for his innocence. Indeed, Cal did recognize Demetrius, who had recently been attending his open lectures at the University. Demetrius seemed particularly interested in the Battle of the Falls, asking questions about the history of Fallcrest and the city’s role in the Last War. Satisfied that Demetrius was telling the truth, but annoyed that she had been called to deal with a simple false alarm, Captain Tira left Demetrius in the care of the Cartwrights for the evening, warning him to stay out of trouble before she departed. Corina agreed that it was far too late in the evening for Quinn and Demetrius to wander around the city looking for lodging, and showed them to their respective guest rooms for the night. ''Burglary at Moonsong University Quinn awoke in the middle of the night after perceiving the Cartwrights’ front door creak open. Upon inspection of the house, she found that Demetrius was gone, leaving only a cryptic apology note behind. Despite Cal’s discouragement, Quinn quickly decided to leave and find Demetrius, deducing that he had likely returned to Moonsong University. When she arrived at the University, Quinn noticed a group of rough-looking humans and dwarves chatting by the main entrance. A few members of the group complained about how long this job was taking, while others told them to be patient and keep quiet “if they wanted to keep their share of the loot.” Almost ready to reveal herself and engage these loitering rapscallions, Quinn saw that a cloaked man was also peering down on the group from atop a nearby building—the same man who had helped her recover her stolen pocketbook from the River Rats earlier. She threw a pebble from the street to attract his attention. Surprised by Quinn’s presence, the man gestured wildly for her to leave at once. However, it soon became apparent that she was not going anywhere. As the two argued silently, there was a crash and a shattering of glass from the University’s library building. A tall woman dressed in black leapt from the third-story window and ran towards the group of thugs gathered at the entrance. She threw them the satchel she was carrying and yelled at them to “get out of here before the guards arrive!” The next moment, she had vanished in a flash of light. Quinn took this opportunity to reveal herself to the group of thugs, blocking their exit route. The man on the roof quickly followed suit, throwing a knife at the thug holding the satchel and spilling its expensive contents onto the street. During the skirmish, the cloaked man’s hood was knocked back, revealing that he was Demetrius. Together, he and Quinn swiftly dispatched the thugs and sent out a call for the Fallcrest Guard. Although she was skeptical at first, Quinn decided that Demetrius was trustworthy enough to befriend…at least for the time being. The roguish halfling evidently reached a similar conclusion. Weaving one of his throwing knives quickly through his fingers he replied, “Just call me Dex.” The Lucky Gnome While Captain Tira and her Guard arrested the thugs, Quinn and Dex contacted the Cartwrights about the burglary and began to examine the spilled contents of the satchel to make sure that all the stolen items had been accounted for. Strangely, the only thing missing from the university was a single page from an old ritual book, which was not among the treasure found in the satchel. Cal explained that the page contained a seemingly ordinary Unsealing Spell, and could not fathom why someone would go to such great lengths to steal it. Apparently coming to his own conclusions, Dex started down the street away from the university before he was cut off by Quinn who demanded an explanation. Reluctantly, Dex revealed that he recognized the thugs as a group of mercenaries who frequented a tavern in the Lower Falls known as The Lucky Gnome. Dex held a shaky truce with the owner of the tavern, a human named Lucien Kel who occasionally informed Dex about criminal activity throughout the Nentir Vale. He also happened to be the leader of the River Rats, offering payment to the miscreant youths of Fallcrest if they picked pockets and gathered intel for him. Lucien was the one who tipped Dex off to the attempted burglary at Moonsong University, which Dex now suspected was merely a ploy to coerce him into setting off the alarm ahead of time so Lucien’s mercenaries could break in undetected. Relishing the opportunity to confront the leader of her attackers from the previous night, Quinn accompanied Dex to the tavern in the Lower Falls. Narrowly avoiding an all-out brawl with a few mercenaries when they arrived at the Lucky Gnome, the two halflings questioned Lucien about his involvement with the attempted burglary. Lucien conceded that he manipulated Dex into tripping the alarm so that his men would be able to breach the university’s defenses, but denied any further involvement on his part. He explained that an eladrin woman named Penelope Rivenwaltz was the one who paid for the hired muscle. Quinn immediately matched this eladrin woman’s description with the woman who fled from the crime scene earlier, and asked if she had any known accomplices. Lucien nervously replied that his River Rats had heard Penelope communicating with Lady Nightshade of the Iron Circle. Storming out of the tavern, Dex remarked that this was “exactly the sort of thing that turncoat Rivenwaltz would do.” Beneath the River Still reeling from the information that they had just uncovered, Quinn and an angry Dex made their way to the Tombwood, a maze of ancient trees and winding mountain paths on the eastern boundary of Fallcrest’s city limits. The Tombwood, Dex explained, was a burial ground for those who lost their lives in the Last War. Although Fallcrest was a populous port city whose capture would be an obvious military asset, Dex believed that there was a more sinister underlying motive as to why the armies of Karrnath invaded Fallcrest during the Battle of the Falls… Before Dex could finish his thoughts, the duo spotted Penelope Rivenwaltz through the trees. As Quinn prepared to ambush the eladrin thief, she realized that Penelope was not alone. Following closely in the underbrush were a few of Lucien’s River Rats holding Cal and Corina hostage. Penelope had been expecting them. Calling Quinn and Dex out into a clearing in the woods, Penelope extended an offer to the two adventurers: Help her locate the treasure she was hired to find in exchange for the Cartwrights’ freedom. Having little choice, the two reluctantly agreed. Penelope explained that she was hired by Lady Nightshade to find an arcane implement called the Ring of Ioun, supposedly located in the lost Tomb of Ioun hidden somewhere in these woods. She apologized to Dex for stealing the treasure he was after himself, but assured him that it was “just business.” Penelope led her captives through the forest to what appeared to be a dead end at the base of a sheer cliff. She threw the stolen ritual scroll to Dex, allowing him to “do the honors” since he had worked so hard to find the ring himself. Besides, she remarked, he was “always so good at finding a way in!” Dex placed his hand on the rock wall and recited from the ritual scroll, ''Beneath the River, Interred in stone We are buried Flesh and bone. To hide the hidden To show the shown We alone We alone. Etched out of the cliff’s stone face appeared the door to the Tomb of Ioun. ''The Tomb of Ioun As Quinn and Dex were pushed into the dark stone entryway of the ancient tomb, the doors slammed immediately shut behind them. Glowing crystal shards embedded in the tomb walls cast a dim light on the antechamber in which they stood. A frozen pool of water glimmered faintly in the center of the room. Before long, Quinn came across a small chest containing a Frost Dagger wrapped in old linen. When she unfurled the cloth, she found a short passage written inside: '' Beneath the River, Sheathed in frost We have buried What once was lost. He who finds it Tempest tossed At what cost? At what cost? Confused, Quinn asked Dex about his knowledge of the tomb and the Ring of Ioun. In response, Dex reached into his pack and produced a weathered roll of paper, handing it to Quinn. The passage read, Beneath the River, Still as night There is buried Forgotten sight. On Ashen Laurel An ancient light Right to wrong Wrong to right. '' '' Dex revealed that he had found this verse of the poem on his travels, and that he had been following its clues to the Ring of Ioun ever since. The ring, he explained, was one of three enchanted pieces of jewelry that fit into three corresponding fragments of the Ashen Crown. According to myth, the fully assembled crown would grant its wearer the power to manipulate the veil that separated the living from the dead. Naturally, such power was too volatile to be held by one person, so various sects of clerics and monks were left in charge of an individual fragment of the crown or a piece of jewelry. Dex had followed a string of clues that led him to believe that one of the jewels was hidden somewhere in Fallcrest, and it was becoming increasingly clear that he was right. He told Quinn that he was even able to find a fragment of the crown. Unfortunately, during the previous year, he met Penelope on a treasure expedition. She promptly stole the fragment from him, and sold it to the highest bidder. Although he was able to track down the fragment and win it back in a duel, he was still bitter about the entire ordeal. It was at this point that Quinn first noticed the Coppercrest seal stamped onto Dex’s rapier. Not wanting to waste any more time, the pair pressed further into the tomb, battling swarms of insect-like kruthik along the way. Soon, they came across an altar holding up a ring inlaid with a shining amber-toned gem. Because it was not “sheathed in frost,” and because she sensed no arcane energy emanating from the artifact, Quinn dismissed it as a fake designed to deter thieves, and continued deeper into the tomb. The narrow passageways of the tomb eventually gave way to a large frozen cistern. Quinn and Dex easily spotted a small ring lying frozen beneath the ice in the center of the room. Interestingly, any attempts to chip away at the ice failed as any dents seemed to fill in and solidify before much progress could be made. Further complicating the task was the fact that the room appeared to serve as the nest of a kruthik hive lord. Once it became aware of the halflings’ presence, the hive lord attacked. Initially acting defensively, Quinn and Dex observed that wherever the massive kruthik’s blood fell, the ice failed to re-solidify. After making this discovery, the two adventurers lured the giant beast to the center of the room before Quinn felled it with a burst of radiant energy from her sword. As the melting ice gave way to rushing water that threatened to crush through the walls around them, the adventurers quickly retrieved the true Ring of Ioun and made their way out of the thawing tomb. ''Honor Among Thieves'' Quinn and Dex emerged from the tomb near the Moonwash Falls on the eastern side of the city. A bridge spanned the gap over the water dangerously close to the fall’s edge. On the other side of the bridge, Penelope waited with a couple of River Rat thugs who continued to hold Cal and Corina hostage. Upon seeing the two adventurers, Penelope quickly mouthed a ritual, causing an apparition of a slender dragonborn woman to appear. Crossing the bridge, Quinn turned over the false ring to Penelope, who held it up for the apparition’s approval. The image of the dragonborn woman smiled, seeming satisfied with the ring, and, with a flick of her purple cloak, disappeared, ordering Penelope to deliver the ring to her “in the Cogs” as quickly as possible. Pocketing the ring, Penelope ordered one of the thugs to release Corina, who quickly ran to join Quinn and Dex on the bridge. Outraged, Quinn drew her sword, demanding that Penelope release Cal as well. Penelope explained, however, that to release both halflings for only the ring was an unequal trade. She revealed that she knew that Dex had recovered his fragment of the Ashen Crown, and that the ring would be much less useful unless the crown could be assembled as well. Penelope was sure that “Lady Nightshade’s smile would be even bigger” when she delivered both the Ring of Ioun ''and ''a fragment of the Ashen Crown, and that her pay would greatly increase as a result. Tired of the eladrin’s games, Quinn tossed her Frost Dagger to Dex and rushed towards the River Rat holding Cal, swiftly cutting the thug down. Responding in kind, Dex threw the dagger at Penelope, who began to draw her own longsword. The Frost Dagger, however, reached her first, lodging itself in her shoulder as ice began to spread down the eladrin’s arm, encasing her in a frozen chrysalis. While Penelope was occupied, Dex quickly snatched the ring from her pockets before moving to engage the remaining River Rat. Eventually, Penelope broke free of her icy binds, matching her sword with Quinn and Dex’s blades as the three battled across the narrow bridge. Although the two halflings outnumbered Penelope, their trials in the tomb had taken a noticeable toll. In a flurry of steel, Penelope seemed to step in and out of being as she rapidly teleported between Quinn and Dex, attacking each simultaneously, and striking Dex with a near-mortal blow. As Penelope prepared to unleash a coup de grace on Dex, he tossed the ring through the air into Quinn’s outstretched hand. She held the ring defiantly over the side of the bridge, over the fall’s edge. Before Penelope could react, Quinn pitched the ring over the falls. The eladrin woman leaped after the artifact, glaring at Quinn as she descended towards the river below. Once she had secured the ring, Penelope vanished once again, narrowly avoiding the rocks that lined the base of the falls. * * * * * Sunlight crept in through the window as Quinn pulled back the sheets from her bed the next morning and headed downstairs to the Cartwrights’ kitchen. Dex was already awake, and apparently feeling no worse for the wear as he packed his bag for the journey ahead. It was barely past dawn, but he and Quinn knew that it was only a matter of time before Penelope and Lady Nightshade discovered that the ring they had was a fake, and the two adventurers didn’t want to threaten Cal and Corina’s safety any more than they already had by lingering in Fallcrest. Quinn and Dex agreed that if they wanted answers about the Iron Circle and gathering the other components of the Ashen Crown, their best course of action was to take the fight to Lady Nightshade herself. Thanking the Cartwrights for their hospitality, the two departed Fallcrest bound for Sharn, the Jewel of the Dagger River. The City of Cogs. Category:Epic Chronicles